Of the more modern tokens--those so abundantly issued during the thirty years preceding 1818--and of the silver tokens of the latter part of that period which, including the Bank Tokens, number some four hundred varieties, I purposely abstain in this little work from giving any particulars. Of those of silver and gold, Boyne’s “Silver Tokens of Great Britain and Ireland,” etc., published in 1866, is the best and most comprehensive list that has been prepared. Of those of copper, Batty’s “Descriptive Catalogue,” in which some twenty thousand varieties are minutely described, is as exhaustive a list as could well be prepared. GREEK AND ROMAN COINS. BY BARCLAY V. HEAD. [Illustration: MEDALLION OF SYRACUSE.] GREEK AND ROMAN COINS. [Illustration] § THE SCIENCE OF NUMISMATICS. The science of Numismatics (from the Greek word νὁμυὁμα, a legally current coin) embraces the study of the coins of all the nations of the earth who have at any period impressed upon pieces of metal--gold, silver, bronze, brass, copper, iron, tin, lead, etc. etc.--any devices (_types_), or inscriptions, indicating that such pieces of metal were issued by authority for public use as money. Strictly speaking, the term Numismatics should not therefore be applied to the study of medallions, medals, or counters, whether commemorative, purely artistic, military, scholastic, etc., unless, as is sometimes the case, such medals have been at the same time current as money. The study of medals is, however, in many respects so nearly allied to Numismatics that it may be and frequently is included in it for convenience sake. For practical purposes coins may be roughly classified under four principal headings:-- { Greek, etc. I. Ancient, including { Roman, etc. { Phœnician, etc. II. Byzantine. III. Mediæval " { European various. { Oriental various. IV. Modern " All countries. Each series may be again subdivided into an enormous number of classes, as will be seen when we come to examine the Greek and Roman series to which the following pages will be devoted.